5 Survival Tips For Working Moms With Kids Home This Summer

Forbes

6 days ago

You're on a critical Zoom call when your eight-year-old bursts through the door asking for the third snack in an hour, while your toddler decides this is the perfect moment to have a meltdown. Meanwhile, your inbox is overflowing, deadlines are looming and you're mentally calculating how much food is left in the fridge. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. This is the reality for working moms everywhere during summer break.
Parental obligations become even more intense when school's out, with research showing that working moms spend nearly nine additional hours per week on childcare during summer. In addition, 76% of working parents report that their children's summer schedules directly impact their ability to focus at work, according to new research from the Modern Family Index (MFI), commissioned by Bright Horizons.
That's why a strategic approach is necessary to help working moms maintain their sanity and sense of humor during the chaos of summer. By implementing these approaches, you'll transform from a frazzled working mother into a highly productive individual.
Release yourself from the perfectionist trap and set realistic expectations:
Creating some semblance of routine can be a lifesaver for working moms, but build in flexibility from the start:
The holy grail of summer survival for working moms is finding activities that keep children happily occupied without constant parental involvement. These "time givers" should be deployed strategically during your most important work periods:
One of the biggest mistakes working moms make is trying to handle summer by themselves. Attempting to do everything alone kills productivity, while accepting help actually makes you more effective:
Working moms running on empty can't maintain productivity or effectively support their families:
Remember that working moms everywhere face these same challenges. According to the Bright Horizons research, 87% of working parents experience disruptions while their children are home during summer. Your struggles are understandable, your feelings are valid and your efforts are more than enough. Most importantly, the memories you're creating will matter more than the work emails that went unanswered or the meetings that were interrupted. You've got this.